Rory Kennedy has been appointed as the new Director Scotland for the Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust. Formerly chair of the Scottish Country Sports Tourism Group (SCSTG) and a member of the Conservation Capital senior team, a global consultancy providing business-led conservation solutions, Rory is aA chartered accountant specialising in economic development and the rural sector. He is also currently a Scottish council member of the British Association for Shooting and Conservation, the Scottish Tourism Alliance and former chair of the Scottish Association for Country Sports. As SCSTG chair, he was the primary force behind the ...

A bold new initiative from the Countryside Alliance Foundation, called Castaway, will bring the health benefits of fishing to those affected by all types of cancer – and it is being launched at this summer’s Game Fair. Castaway will support both men and women affected by cancer, improving their physical and mental health by engaging with fishing and the restorative and pastoral qualities of the countryside. Castaway’s one-day fishing mini courses and introduction to angling – and beyond – caters for those who have finished their treatment – inviting them to have an introduction to fishing and the wellbeing benefits ...

With everything opening up on July 19th, the team at The Game Fair can’t wait to welcome you to Ragley Hall the following week for the best-ever celebration of the great British countryside. Our plans remain unaffected by this week’s Government announcement of a four-week delay to the lifting of all lockdown restrictions and we have been buoyed by the promise that July 19th really will be Freedom Day. But, in truth, the organisers have been ready to host this event at Ragley Hall, Warwickshire, for months and back in April the event was given “Good ...

If you want to inject some distance into long-range shooting, then the Vortex Venom riflescope is a great first step. Packed with great features including a 5-25x mag range built into a 34mm tube for a huge amount of turret travel (85 MOA / 25 MRAD maximum elevation / windage), the Venom also boasts Vortex’s RevStop Zero System for a fast, easy and reliable return to zero. The First Focal Plane EBR-7C reticle ensures accurate holds at distance while the addition of a throw lever allows fast transitions between maginifcations. If you’re looking for a quick ...

As well as being the managing director of East Anglian gun importer and distributor ASI, Edward King has also headed up many of the shooting industry’s bodies, including the Gun Trade Association and the Gun and Allied Trades Benevolent Society, among others. He said: “Back in the early 1990s, when I had been in the gun trade for half a dozen years or so, I had the opportunity to join the council (board) of an organisation called the Shooting Sports Trust; it was a body which specifically represented the importers, wholesalers and manufacturers in the UK ...

The iconic footwear and accessories brand just loves The Game Fair and is all set for this year’s event. We asked founders Marcus Fountaine and Felix Parker to tell us a bit more about the Fairfax & Favor journey. TGF: When and why did you set up Fairfax & Favor? F&F: Late in the spring of our 18th year, we had an epiphany – to combine our middle names and launch our very first business venture, a bouncy castle company. It was the unconventional birth of Fairfax & Favor. We had tried to unlock other name ...

Cotswold brand Black Lion will be giving visitors their first taste of a unique vodka, made using milk from a rare breed of sheep. The full-bodied drink is being produced sustainably and distilled using Cotswold spring water. Handcrafted using a unique process, Black Lion Vodka is made using the milk from Valais Blacknose sheep, which graze on the founders’ family-owned farm. Using selective breeding, Tim and Tanya Spittle have created the Black Lion sheep, allowing them to contribute to the preservation of this iconic breed, which originated in the Swiss mountains. At the same time, they ...

Some of the best-known names in fine shotguns will be going under the hammer at Holts’ next auction of Fine, Modern & Antique Guns & Accessories, on June 21st and 22nd. Among the lots on offer is a Henry Atkin that was built for the well-known writer on shooting sports Gough Thomas Garwood (Lot 1450). Another outstanding gun is a fine and impressive eight-bore single trigger sidelock ejector by William Ford (Lot 799). Although built in 1939, this lot comes with a letter from the makers specifying it as a gun for shooting crocodiles in India. Any ...

The CEO of top egg supplier Clarence Court, which is sponsoring The Game Fair’s Main Arena this summer, took the chance to ‘eggs-perience’ the Ragley Hall venue for himself this week. Adrian Gott met with The Game Fair managing director James Gower and Marketing Executive Eleanor Usborne for a tour of the grounds of the stately home near Alcester, Warwickshire. They were joined outside the hall itself by the estate’s owner, Lord Hertford, keen to welcome any visitors to his home. Clarence Court supplies eggs to leading supermarkets – stamped with a blue crown emblem – ...

The future of grouse shooting is set to be debated in Parliament on June 21st and the industry needs everyone’s help to ensure the facts are fully represented. Organisations such as the Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust and the Countryside Alliance are doing all they can to provide politicians and journalists with the true facts about grouse shooting. These organisations, along with Game Fair exhibitor William Powell Sporting, other businesses and individuals who are actively involved with grouse shooting and fieldsports, are urging you to contact your local MP to ensure they understand and defend the ...

GunsOnPegs managing director Chris Horne and his father, James, who is chairman, set up the business up from what started out as a little hobby website beside their day jobs. Chris explained: “Being able to turn your hobby into your livelihood is a huge privilege because the conversations you have at ‘work’ and with customers are nearly always about the thing you do for fun! It helps that secretly I’m a little techy geek behind the scenes and running a tech-based business is such an exciting blend of hobby and face-paced business. “Shooting itself is going ...

If you are stumped for original Father’s Day gifts then food specialist Wild & Game has an innovative and unique Present Box that will delight game lovers and foodies alike. Priced at £49.99, the box contains a selection of the company’s top selling products, including not only game meat but also beef, cheese, pâté and a pheasant Wellington. The full contents are one T-bone beef steak, one pheasant Wellington, two venison steaks, one pack of four venison and wild boar burgers, a 1lb huntsman pie, venison, juniper and gin pâté and a chunk of Wookey Hole ...

Some of our long-lost species, including beavers, wildcats, golden eagles could make a return to our countryside, alongside some in decline such as pine marten, dormice, corncrake and large blue butterfly. After an announcement by the Environment Secretary George Eustice MP, Natural England is set to establish a species reintroductions task force, alongside habitat restoration and greening of urban spaces to meet new legally binding biodiversity targets to reverse the decline of wildlife. Natural England will be heading up the task force as secretariat, considering the reintroduction of species which have been lost to England and ...

Gundog training equipment supplier Sporting Saint has a string of new arrivals it is launching, just in time for The Game Fair. The Air & Go Remote Control Dummy Launcher is exclusively sold via the company in the UK and is a fast, self-filling, quality air launcher with no bang sound. Two options are available, either with or without a duck sound, and it is suitable for both professional and leisure use, with two, four, six or eight shooters. Sporting Saint is also working with renowned gundog trainer Andy Cullen to bring a specially designed Puppy ...

Wrackleford Estate is set in the lush Frome valley near Dorchester and offers some of the best fly fishing and shooting (game and simulated), thanks to its unique position and topography. Having passed into the fifth and sixth generation of the family, current owners Katie and Oliver Pope told The Game Fair Trade News all about the estate. TGF: Can you tell us a little bit about the history of the Wrackleford Estate and your part in it? Oliver Pope: The estate has been in the hands of the family for six ...

HFV Parkland & Wild (HFV) is a proud Yorkshire-based business. Managing director Nigel Sampson always had a passion for farming and deer and spent many years of hard work to create a professional nationwide distribution network, supplying park and wild deer into retailers, the public, supermarkets and hospitality sectors. The business is also a British Game Alliance-assured stockist of feathered game meat products, demonstrating and adhering to the highest standards in this sector. You can find its products in supermarkets around the UK carrying the BGA stamp of approval, which is a real step forward for ...

The 900SP over and under from Webley & Scott offers affordable luxury, from the sophisticated, delicate scroll engraving across the body of the action which is complemented by the elegant side plates. The strong specification continues with an oil-finished walnut stock, a coin finished silver action, pistol grip stock, proven steel box lock action and a manual safety with auto safe conversion. It is steel shot proofed too. Its decadent, high-class looks belie its affordability and it’s available as a 12 gauge model with 30in barrels or a 20 gauge with 28in barrels plus a hi-viz ...

This week’s key trade player is John Bright, the CEO of shooting and clothing distributor Highland Outdoors. Having started in the gun trade in his native Australia and working with John and David Fuller, John Bright has risen through the industry to become one of the leading voices in shooting sports. He created Highland Outdoors in 2007 and the brand has since grown to incorporate an extensive global portfolio and continues to expand. John explained: “I moved here in 2007 and set up the company from nothing. I spent a lot of time setting it up, seeing customers, ...

Research investigating the influence of temperature and flood events on juvenile Atlantic salmon found that warmer winters and cooler springs could be driving a fall in their numbers. Experts from the Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust (GWCT) studied the River Frome in Dorset and found numbers of juveniles were lower following unseasonal temperatures, which could be associated with climate change. Their findings highlight the fragility of chalk streams and the salmon populations that inhabit them, to such changes. Atlantic salmon stocks have suffered declines in recent decades, leading researchers to try and understand the threats to both juvenile freshwater and adult marine habitats in order to manage these habitats better. This survey, one of only a few conducted in the ...

Following the establishment of the new Welsh Parliament, the British Association for Shooting and Conservation has written to all members of the Senedd, highlighting the importance of shooting to the Welsh economy, environment and culture. The elections, held a fortnight ago, saw Welsh Labour narrowly miss out on securing a majority, winning 30 of the 60 seats in the Senedd. The Conservatives gained 16 seats becoming the official opposition with Plaid Cymru obtaining 13 and the Liberal Democrats one. Lesley Griffiths, MS for Wrexham, has maintained the rural affairs portfolio, though her responsibilities have been expanded ...